Community Invited to North Coast Rail Trail Groundbreaking on June 20

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission invites the community to celebrate the groundbreaking for the North Coast Rail Trail on Thursday, June 20, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at Wilder Ranch State Park, 1401 Coast Road, Santa Cruz.

The North Coast Rail Trail Project is a 7.5-mile multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail extending along the railroad corridor from Wilder Ranch State Park in the south to Davenport in the north in unincorporated Santa Cruz County. The project comprises the majority of Coastal Rail Trail Segment 5 of the larger Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail (MBSST) Network.

The North Coast Rail Trail is divided into three phases. Phases I and II will begin construction in June 2024. Phase I spans 5.4 miles from Wilder Ranch to Panther/Yellowbank Beach. Phase II spans 2.1 miles from Panther/Yellowbank Beach to Davenport and includes new paved parking lots and restrooms in Davenport and at Panther/Yellowbank Beach, improved access to the parking lot at Bonny Doon Beach, and a pedestrian crossing of Highway 1 in Davenport. Phase III includes construction of the Cotoni Coast Dairies Highway 1 overpass that connects the Coastal Rail Trail on the coastal side of Highway 1 to Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument on the inland side of Highway 1. This phase is scheduled to complete environmental review in 2024, design in 2025, and begin construction in 2027.

The RTC, in coordination with Federal Highway Administration Central Federal Lands, is implementing the North Coast Rail Trail. The project was awarded two separate grants to develop the trail, parking lots and overcrossing. Funding for construction of the trail and parking lots comes from federal funds ($33.2 million), Measure D ($8.2 million), and from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and the California Coastal Conservancy ($5.25 million combined). Project partners include California State Parks and the County of Santa Cruz. The contractor on the project is Joseph J. Albanese Inc. based in Santa Clara, California.

The public is invited to celebrate with the RTC and project partners Central Federal Lands, California State Parks, Santa Cruz County, California Coastal Conservancy, and U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. The festivities will take place in the main parking lot at Wilder Ranch State Park. 

For more information on the North Coast Rail Trail, please visit www.sccrtc.org/seg5.